Kuhl Protests Canandaigua VA Closings

Representatives from Kuhl's office state that the letter illustrates the Congressman's long held feelings regarding the VA closure and is not a political response to Eric Massa's recent statements.

Rep. John R. "Randy" Kuhl, Jr. (R-Hammondsport) today sent the attached letter to U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Nicholson protesting the closure of the Canandaigua Veterans Administration Medical Center’s Acute Care Psychiatric Unit and demanded answers to several questions from the VA Secretary about the planned closure. “I’m very upset about the way the VA has handled the acute psychiatric unit,” said Rep. Kuhl. “I have written Secretary Nicholson and asked him to respond to several important points and questions about issues that he has yet to address with me or the community. Our veterans and our communities deserve better, and I will continue to work to see that they get it.”

Text of the letter, sent today, follows:

Dear Secretary Nicholson: I wrote to you on December 18th regarding the Canandaigua VA and the 2004 decision by then Secretary Principi to close the inpatient acute psychiatric unit. I asked that you reconsider the decision that was made by former Secretary Principi. As you know, yesterday, it was announced that the Canandaigua VA will stop accepting patients to the inpatient acute psychiatric unit as of March 1, with plans on closing the unit by mid-March. I am disappointed that I never received a response from you prior to this decision which is so very important to the veterans of my district. I believe much has changed since the 2004 decision was made. First, as I mentioned in my December letter, it is quite evident that more and more of our brave men and women are returning everyday from Iraq and Afghanistan suffering from PTSD and other mental impairments. This is not the time to be eliminating any vital services that are provided to our veterans on VA campuses, this is the time to expand them.

Second, with the Canandaigua VA now designated as one of only three national Centers for Excellence for PTSD, it would only seem appropriate to keep this very valuable service that is provided to our veterans on the existing campus where the Center for Excellence will be located. Third, when you visited the Canandaigua VA, you witnessed first hand the dedication of the VA employees, the care the veterans received, the incredible support from the community and the very peaceful serenity of the campus and important role this atmosphere plays in the healing process of our nation’s heroes. The Canandaigua VA is located a short distance from the Rochester Metropolitan area and remains the ideal place to provide our area’s veterans with the quality of care they deserve, including inpatient acute
psychiatric care. This service has been provided to our area veterans for many
years and they and their families are extremely satisfied with the incredible care they receive. Fourth, the CARES process is still not finalized as to the future of the Canandaigua VA complex. I believe, at the very least, any decision on this issue should have waited until this process was completed. Finally, I have never accepted the rationale that closing the inpatient acute psychiatric unit is in the best interest of our area veterans. What is in the best interest of our veterans is to reverse this decision and allow inpatient acute psychiatric care to continue at the Canandaigua VA campus. If you were to reverse this decision, I am convinced this would have a long-lasting positive impact on our veterans, the employees and the community which will in turn lead to an even better quality of care for our veterans, which is what they deserve. I thank you for your time and look forward to your immediate response.